Yahoo DFS Week 3

It’s week 3 of the NFL season and that means yet another chance to win playing Daily Fantasy Sports. Yahoo’s DFS platform is on the rise in popularity, so now is the time to join.

For more information on Yahoo DFS scoring setting and lineup requirements, check out the Week 1 article.

Home and Dome

There are a few elements that I look at in order to find the most desired matchups. There is what I call Home and Dome, teams that are playing at home with an indoor stadium. Wind can be a factor that can negatively impact passing offenses and being indoors takes that element away. There are three teams that play Home and Dome in week 3:

Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Pathers

Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins

Indianapolis Colts vs Atlanta Falcons

Minnesota Vikings vs Oakland Raiders

Preferred Position Price Points

Because the pricing is so compressed on Yahoo’s format, there are a lot more players at the same cost than on other platforms. For our purposes, that is great because it gives us certain price points to target when creating DFS lineups.

QB – $26

Jacoby Brissett IND vs ATL

It is a Home and Dome contest for Jacoby Brissett and the Colts as they host the Falcons. This could mean that the conditions for a shootout type game could be in order. While neither team has an overall high implied total, the combined over/under for this game is tied for the 4th highest of week 3.

Jimmy Garoppolo SF vs PIT

The Steelers just made a trade for a valuable commodity for their secondary. But will that make an immediate impact? There could be an adjustment period to exploit in DFS. After a rough week 1 outing, Jimmy Garoppolo had a decent week 2 by scoring 23.68 fantasy points. The Steelers have also allowed the 6th most fantasy points to QB in the first 2 games of 2019.

RB – $33

Dalvin Cook MIN vs OAK

Dalvin Cook is coming off of a career-high performance by gaining 154 rushing yards against the Packers. A lot of his production came after Green Bay took a 21-0 lead. This shows that even with a poor game script, the Vikings do not want to abandon the run. Regardless of the receiving weapons on the team, Minnesota wants to run the football. So, in a contest where the Vikings are favored, Cook could get even more work than the 23 touches per game he has received so far in 2019. Furthermore, Minnesota is tied for the 5th highest implied total of week 3, with 26 points.

Ezekiel Elliott DAL vs MIA

There shouldn’t be too much to say here. The Dolphins have been flat out terrible at football through 2 weeks. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have been rolling offensively with back-to-back 30+ point performances. With the highest implied total of the week, Dallas is once again expected to reach that plateau. If the do, expect Ezekiel Elliott to be heavily involved in the scoring. He has 8 red zone carries so far this season, which is tied for 2nd in the NFL. Elliot has the best chance to be the RB1 this week. But he comes at a $7 discount compared to the highest-priced RB. Thatès value.

WR – $20

Mike Evans TB vs NYG

So far in 2019, Mike Evans has been held in check with back-to-back single-digit fantasy performances. Because of this, Yahoo has drastically reduced his price to a preferred point. At $20, he is actually cheaper than his teammate Chris Godwin. To be fair, Godwin has outproduced Evans in each contest this season, but this nonetheless seems like a slight overreaction. The Buccaneers are currently listed with an implied total of 27 points, the 4th highest of the week. Considering that the Giants do not have nearly the defensive line of Tampa Bay previous two opponents, QB Jameis Winston should have the time needed to find Evans repeatedly.

Kenny Golladay DET @ PHI

The Eagles have allowed the 2nd most fantasy points to WRs through 2 games this season. That includes 3 separate 100-yard performances to different players at the position for players such as Terry McLaurin and Julio Jones. Each of those players are currently leading their respective WR corps in targets, much like Kenny Golladay for the Lions. He has turned his 19 targets into 12 receptions for 159 yards and 2 TDs. While a better catch rate is desired, this may be the matchup for Golladay to truly explode. A Home and Dome game never hurts either.

TE – $17

Vance McDonald PIT @ SEA

It is perhaps a new era in Pittsburgh. Young QB Mason Rudolph will get his 1st career start on Sunday after coming in as a mid-game replacement last week. He had decent production, which includes 2 TD passes to Vance McDonald. The TE actually ended up catching all 7 of his targets and led the Steelers in receptions for the contest. McDonald played in 91% of the offensive snaps so he has very little competition at his position. As long as he continues to be one of Rudolph’s main targets (especially in the red zone) then he should be in line to produce as one of Pittsburgh’s top two weapons.

Jason Witten DAL vs MIA

The Cowboys offense has been on fire so far in 2019. That has led to productive fantasy outings for most of their players. Perhaps quietly, TE Jason Witten has 5 red-zone targets through 2 weeks. That is only 1 target behind the league leaders. Witten has been productive with those opportunities as he has a TD reception in each contest this season. While his role his basically limited to an end zone weapon, (5 of his 8 total targets have come in the red zone) it is nonetheless a role he excels at. Also, the Cowboys have an implied total of 34 points in week 3, the highest in the league. The TD should be there and Witten has a decent chance to land 1 of them. While the Dolphins ineptitude is the biggest factor, having a Home and Dome game is a good idea for pass catchers.

Best Bet Bargains

QB – Jameis Winston TB vs NYG $23

I do not usually include QBs in this section, but this price convinced me to do so. Much like his teammate Mike Evans, Jameis Winston’s price has been reduced due to a couple of sub-15-point fantasy performances. However, this could be the perfect matchup to get back on track. In this young season, the Giants have allowed the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing QBs. That includes a turnover free performance by Josh Allen last week. Like Winston, Allen has a career INT rate of over 3.0%. So if Allen can accomplish that, imagine what Winston could do with arguably a better receiving group.

RB – Peyton Barber TB vs NYG $13

The Buccaneers backfield was basically a 1/3 1/3 1/3 split among RB snaps in week 1. However, in the team’s 2nd match of the year, Peyton Barber upped his snap count from 36% to 65%. And guess what, they won. In a close, defensive-minded matchup, Barber received 23 rushing attempts. Going against the Giants team whose QB is about to make his first career start, this seems like a game script that favors Barber’s production over other members of the Tampa Bay backfield.

WR – Robert Woods LAR @ CLE $17

A theme with a lot of my players in this article is drastic price reductions. Everything looked good after a week 1 game where Robert Woods saw 13 targets. In week 2 however, he was phased out of the offense with only 2 targets. In the 30 games that Woods has played for the Rams since joining them in 2017, he has seen less than 5 targets only 3 times. This seems like a blip on the radar and not the start of a new trend. The Rams are still a great offense, so this may be a great opportunity to get a piece while still saving money.

Dominant Defenses

New England Patriots vs NYJ $20

The Patriots defense is coming off of a 37 point fantasy performance. While this came against the Dolphins, the Jets are not much better offensively. Especially since they are starting their 3rd string QB who is only about to be active for the 2nd time in his career. After such a massive fantasy performance and a likely repeat, it is a shock that the Patriots are not the most expensive DST of the week. I say take advantage and play them at a slight discount.

Arizona Cardinals vs CAR / Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs NYG $12

For both the Cardinals and the Buccaneers defensive units, there are some similarities. The most obvious is that their opponents are both starting backup QBs. Coming in at $12 each, both Arizona and Tampa Bay offer great budget prices for potentially strong fantasy performances. If you do not want to pay up for the Patriots, I would save some money and target either of these teams.

Super Stacks

Ravens @ Chiefs

QB – Patrick Mahomes  KC $38

WR – Demarcus Robinson / Mecole Hardman KC $15/$13

TE – Mark Andrews BAL $21

The Ravens-Chiefs game has the highest over/under of the week with 52 points. That makes it the most natural matchup to stack. Much like the Patriots defense, who I believe should be the highest priced DST, Patrick Mahomes is also a “discount”. While $38 is not cheap for a QB, Mahomes is surprisingly not the most expensive option. That makes me want to play him and stack him with one of his cheaper receiving options. With Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman both priced at under $16, they each make for affordable options next to their QB. If you want to take the stack one step further, I would look to the Ravens side, specifically TE Mark Andrews. While he missed practice Wednesday, Andrews returned on Thursday and should play. Nonetheless, monitor his status in advance of Sunday.

Packers

RB – Aaron Jones GB $20

DST – Green Bay Packers $18

This is a simple stack. There is a correlation of going with an RB and DST from the same team. For instance, if the Packers get up to an early lead and are blowing out the Broncos, then Aaron Jones should get more carries in the 2nd half. This happened last week as Jones ran the ball 23 times, which was actually a career-best for him. If Denver is unable to put up points on the board, that obviously helps the Green bay DST. But it could also force the Broncos to take some risks and thus lead to some turnovers.

Also: Giants @ Buccaneers

Thank you for reading. For all of your DFS needs, be sure to check out Going for 2 daily.

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